1. Learning from peer support
Karen Machin
Marissa Lambert
Peer Training Team
June 2014

2. Today's session: What is peer support? Challenges of disclosure
Our approach with peer support
Peer support in different settings

3. What is Peer Support?
A system of giving and receiving help founded on respect, shared responsibility and mutual agreement of what is helpful
(Mead, Hilton & Curtis , 2001)

4. Peer Support in the NHS
the introduction of people with lived experience of mental health problems into the mental health workforce is probably the single most important factor contributing towards changes towards more recovery-orientated services
(Repper, 2013)

5. What is a Peer?
A peer (in this context) is an individual with severe mental illness who is or was receiving mental health services and who self identifies as such
(Solomon & Draine, 2001)

6. What is a Peer?
“There is no universally accepted definition of peer support but the term generally refers to mutual support provided by people with similar life experiences as they move through difficult life situations.”
(Repper and Carter, September 2010)

7. Peer workers are expected to:
Have lived experience of distress
Be prepared to share that experience safely - disclosure
Respect confidentiality
Adhere to codes of conduct and ethics
Act within boundaries

8. Disclosing hidden disabilities
When might you disclose your own story?
What about your students or the people you support?

9. “If we plant a seed in a desert and it fails to grow, do we ask
“If we plant a seed in a desert and it fails to grow, do we ask. “What is wrong with the seed?” No. The real conspiracy lays in this: to look at the environment around the seed and to ask, “what must change in the environment such that the seed can grow?”
Patricia Deegan, 1987,
“Recovery & the Conspiracy of Hope”

10. Peer Support Training Requested by NHS
To prepare people with lived experience of distress to work in support roles safely and effectively
Co-produced and co-delivered
Accredited since 2010

11. The Training Experience
11 day course over 6 weeks
Experiential learning
Practical group work
Discussion and role play

12. Peer Support Workers need understanding of:
Recovery and Peer Support
Active listening
Recovery Planning
Problem solving
Focus on strengths
Sharing lived experience and disclosure

13. Working Together with Organisations
Consultancy and team preparation as well as training delivery
Explore narratives and relationships

14. Concerns from Staff
Peer Support Workers take the nice bits of the work
They can go off sick – they’re not reliable in a crisis
I can’t share confidential information with them
They bring their criticisms of staff and services
I’ve had mental health problems but I can’t talk about it – I’m a peer too.

15. What is the Difference?
“If you employ a professional with mental health problems you are still employing a professional…… my lived experience can be useful but it's not my core skill… and you still have a relationship where there is that power hierarchy”
(Rachel Perkins, April 2012)

16. What could this mean for you?
Could peer support work in your setting?
Who would be peers?
What skills do they need?

17. “Over the course of this year, I have only learned the diagnosis of a few of my caseload. What I did learn was the strengths of the people I’ve met and the skills they all have. From people I have worked with, I have learnt how to make jewellery, how to cook certain foods, how to set up a computer, how to sew and I have an in depth knowledge of Battlestar Galactica. ”
(Watson, 2012)

18. References:
Deegan, P. (1987). Recovery and the conspiracy of hope. In Sixth Annual Mental Health Services Conference of Australia and New Zealand. Brisbane, Australia. Retrieved from
Mead, S., Hilton, D., & Curtis, L. (2001). Peer support: a theoretical perspective. Psychiatric Rehabilitation Journal, 25(2), 134–141.
Repper, J., & Carter, T. (2011). A review of the literature on peer support in mental health
services. Journal of Mental Health, 20(4), 392–411.
Repper, J. (2013b). Peer Support Workers: a practical guide to implementation. London:
Centre for Mental Health & Mental Health Network, NHS Confederation.
Solomon, P., & Draine, J. (2001). The state of knowledge of the effectiveness of consumer
provided services. Psychiatric Rehabilitation Journal, 25, 20–27.
Watson, E. (2012). One year in peer support – personal reflections. Journal of Mental Health Training, Education and Practice, The, 7(2), 85–88.

19. Thank You Marissa Lambert – Marissa.lambert@nottshc.nhs.uk
Karen Machin –
Prospectus available at: 19